MONKEY FLUNKIES

HOLLYWOOD'S 'It' girls have gone ape for the Arctic Monkeys.

A slew of LA babes have been falling over each other in a desperate bid to hang out with the lads, who have proved an instant success at this amazing desert festival in Indio, California.

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Kimberley Stewart were all battling for the attentions of the Sheffield lads - whose second album is a runaway No 1 in the UK - at a party hosted by GQ magazine at LA's Viceroy hotel.

Kelly Osbourne had spent time with the boys during the festival, but the real action was at the party later. First up was La Lohan, who's been linked to a string of Hollywood stars including Jude Law and Bruce Willis, and clearly thought chatting up frontman Alex Turner would be a breeze. Wrong.

The cheeky scamp, who'd earlier performed a blinding set at the festival, seemed totally perplexed when she sidled up to him and greeted her attempts at conversation with grunts. Realising she was getting nowhere, the Herbie Rides Again 'star' left in a huff.

Next up was Paris, who complimented the band on being "hot", but was edged out of the way by Rod Stewart's daughter, Kimberley.

The leggy blonde had Alex and drummer Matt Helders eating out of her hands and when the party was over she led them back to a suite. Says our eyewitness: "Even though the party was packed with celebrities, all the girls wanted to talk to the band. But the boys were more interested in larking around.

"Lindsay was really miffed when Alex was unresponsive towards her and had a face like thunder. But it was a different story with Kimberley. Matt was following her around like a lap dog."